Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 976

A moment later, a gruesome scream echoed, and a large black aura materialized. The blood-colored chains constricted the black aura as if it were a delectable meal, and the thunder intensified.

The black aura shrieked in terror, desperately contorting itself into a dozen different shapes in a futile attempt to escape. Among these forms were the figures of the black-robed man and the Ink Qilin [a mythical beast resembling a unicorn with scales].

However, the blood-colored chains clung to the black aura like leeches, offering no chance of escape.

A furious roar reverberated from an unseen source, belonging to a giant face. At that moment, the monstrous entity that the Soul Devourer had transformed into began to move. With its large, furred hand, the Soul Devourer plucked one of the sharp thorns from its back. Holding the bone, it chanted a strange incantation that Han Li had never encountered before.

Then, golden spell characters densely covered the jet-black bone thorn, gradually transforming it into a mystical golden bone spear.

*Wooong!*

As the bone spear vibrated and grew, golden light coalesced at its tip, emitting a dazzling glow. The spell characters on the surface of the bone spear floated around, radiating a chilling murderous intent.

“Golden Seal Script!” [a type of ancient writing system]

“Heavenly Punishment Divine Spear!” [a powerful weapon]

Surprised voices burst from Han Li and the black shadow. The black shadow trembled in fear.

Just then, the black aura trapped in the distant blood-colored chains suddenly contracted and then exploded with a bang. Unexpectedly, it had self-destructed.

The black aura, now countless black lights, broke free from the blood-colored chains due to the force of the explosion and shot out in all directions. The giant monster had detonated a part of itself to allow some of its energy to escape.

However, this freedom was fleeting. The blood-colored chains vibrated and blurred, then transformed into dozens of blood-colored threads that pierced through the black lights. The black lights were forcibly pulled together and merged into one, and the blood-colored threads turned back into thick chains, binding the black aura once more.

*Swoosh!*

The Soul Devourer’s bone spear flew, scattering golden light.

However, the writhing black aura began to morph into an unfamiliar face. Unlike the previous giant face, it had two horns, and its face was divided into five colors, surrounded by blood-colored flames. In the place where the eyes should have been, silver masses were spinning, causing dizziness just by looking at them.

If the previous giant monster resembled a human face, this one was the form of a demon unlike any seen before.

“Immortal, please save me! Please stop the Execution Beast! My true form is a divided soul of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord. If you spare me, I will serve as your demon slave.”

“Heavenly Outer Demon Lord!” [a powerful demonic entity]

Han Li was startled, but he couldn’t control the Soul Devourer, which had transformed into a demonic creature. The connection between him and the Soul Devourer had been severed, and it was merely acting on instinct. How could he possibly stop it?

In the end, the golden light pierced through the face of the demon, which was filled with despair. A finger-sized hole appeared in the demon’s face, and golden light overflowed from within. In an instant, the demon’s face hardened like stone.

*Hmm.*

The Soul Devourer’s eyes flashed, and it snorted, sending out a yellow aura that enveloped the black aura and the demon’s face, pulling them back. The demon entered the Soul Devourer’s belly, and the blood-colored chains scattered in the air.

The bone spear that had been shot out returned to the Soul Devourer’s back. Now, the golden seal script on the bone had disappeared, and the Soul Devourer’s black light had greatly diminished, becoming dim.

*Thud!*

The Soul Devourer, having swallowed the giant monster, collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Its massive body reverted to a small monkey enveloped in black light.

Han Li felt the connection with the Soul Devourer’s consciousness restored and flinched.

He hurriedly used his consciousness to examine the Soul Devourer’s body and was shocked. The Soul Devourer’s cultivation and consciousness were depleted. It was as if it had fought a powerful enemy for three days and nights without rest.

Han Li’s mind was in turmoil. The Soul Devourer’s bizarre transformation and the fact that the giant monster’s face was a divided soul of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord were all mysteries.

“They clearly called the Soul Devourer an Execution Beast…”

Although his mind was in turmoil, now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. The black space was shaking, and then it shattered into pieces, with white light seeping through the cracks.

Han Li quickly scanned his surroundings but could not find anything that resembled the True Qilin Source [a mythical artifact]. He narrowed his eyes, quickly gathered the Soul Devourer into his sleeve, and leaped away.

The next moment, a ripple appeared in the high sky, and Han Li, surrounded by a blue protective barrier, appeared. Below him, the giant monster’s face was crumbling, hardened like stone.

He quickly looked around and narrowed his eyes.

Somsom, who had been stiff, was floating in the air, surrounded by hundreds of white flying swords. Not far from her, the Gyu Clan man stood with his hands behind his back.

“Senior Han, did you defeat the Blood Spirit?” [a powerful entity]

The Jeong Clan woman asked in surprise, and the Gyu Clan man also looked up at him with a cold gaze.

“Do you doubt that I killed the monster?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that you defeated the Blood Spirit so quickly that I was a little surprised.”

At that moment, the Gyu Clan man spoke coldly.

“So, where is the True Qilin Source? Did the cultivator take it?”

“Do you know anything about the entity that was residing in the Blood Spirit?”

Han Li did not answer the Gyu Clan man’s question and instead asked what he was curious about. The Gyu Clan man and Somsom exchanged glances at the unexpected question.

“What is it that Senior Han finds unsettling?”

“It’s not that I find it unsettling, but rather that the monster called itself a divided soul of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord before it died. I was asking if you know anything about this.”

“Heavenly Outer Demon Lord!”

“That’s absurd!”

This time, Somsom and the Gyu Clan youth simultaneously expressed surprise and fear.

“I’ve never heard of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord, but you two seem to know it well. Could you please explain it to me?”

Han Li raised an eyebrow at their reaction. When the Gyu Clan man closed his mouth with a dark face, Somsom hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.

“You must know about the Heavenly Outer Demons. The Heavenly Outer Demon Lord is the highest-ranking among them, and they usually have countless incarnations. Even True Spirit-level beings are terrified. If a Heavenly Outer Demon Lord infiltrates their consciousness, they can become demonized and turn into puppets.”

“Even True Spirits fear them?”

Han Li’s expression darkened.

“Is it just True Spirits? I’ve heard that even Immortals of the True Immortal Realm can be demonized and controlled if they encounter a Heavenly Outer Demon Lord. Of course, no one knows if that’s true. Senior, did the entity residing in the Blood Spirit really call itself a divided soul of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord?”

Somsom smiled awkwardly and asked again to confirm.

“Somsom, are you saying that I’m lying?”

“No, it’s just that the matter is so serious that I was just confirming…”

“I believe that the cultivator is telling the truth.”

Before Somsom could finish her sentence, the Gyu Clan man interjected in a subdued voice.

“What do you mean by that?”

Han Li asked with a surprised expression, and Somsom turned her head first and asked.

“Hmph, don’t pretend you don’t know. You should know that an ordinary being cannot reside in the Blood Spirit, which is a spirit of heaven and earth, right? At least, it’s impossible for you and me.”

The Gyu Clan man looked at Somsom with an unpleasant gaze.

“Even so, it’s strange that the opponent knows about the blood of the True Spirit and the True Qilin Source.”

Somsom shook her head and retorted.

“It’s just a guess, but it’s possible that an incarnation of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord that fell into another realm happened to devour a being similar to us and learned about this place. Or perhaps it encountered the Blood Spirit here by chance and immediately took residence in it.”

“We’ll know if we check. If I remember correctly, the spirit that the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord resided in turns into demonic dust after it dies. Although the Blood Spirit is a special spirit, this point should not be different.”

Somsom said, looking down. At those words, Han Li, who looked at the place where the monster had collapsed, was startled. The remains of the monster’s face, which had turned into a grayish-white stone, had already turned into a large amount of black dust and piled up.

After staring at it for a while, he could see that the black dust was maintaining a shape similar to the monster. The Jeong Clan woman sighed softly, and the Gyu Clan man reached out and summoned a handful of black dust.

“It’s definitely demonized dust.”

The Gyu Clan man muttered, shaking off the dust.

“It seems that, as Senior Han said, the Blood Spirit was being controlled by an incarnation of the Heavenly Outer Demon Lord. Thank you for saving us from the opponent’s trap.”

Somsom smiled and bowed her head towards Han Li.

“It’s nothing, I just got lucky and caught the monster. Its divine powers were so strange that it wasn’t easy to deal with.”

Han Li’s heart grew heavy as he recalled the black-robed men who had displayed the power of immortality.

“The Blood Spirit was a spirit without a physical form, so it couldn’t unleash its full power. The Heavenly Outer Demon Lord is said to be comparable to an Immortal of the Spirit Realm, so the beings controlled by its incarnations must also be very powerful. However, it will be more difficult for you to ascend now, Cultivator Han. Since an incarnation was defeated, the demon might appear directly to interfere.”

The Gyu Clan man said, his eyes gleaming coldly.

“Ascension? Is there any need to worry about such a distant future from now?”

Han Li smiled faintly, as if he didn’t care.

“Then, since Somsom and I have revealed the identity of the demon, shall we move on to the story of the True Qilin Source?”

“I don’t know what the True Qilin Source looks like. I couldn’t find it inside the Blood Spirit either.”

This time, Han Li did not evade the question and readily answered. At those words, the Gyu Clan man’s face hardened, and Somsom also frowned and fell into thought.

Strangely, they did not doubt or get angry.

“What do you think, Cultivator Gyu?”

The Jeong Clan woman asked, smiling at the Gyu Clan man.

“It’s true that I don’t feel the True Qilin Source’s energy from Cultivator Han’s body. We originally came from the same place, so no matter how well it’s hidden, we can’t avoid sensing it. But I definitely felt the presence of the source inside the Blood Spirit when we fought it!”

“Then, it seems that you have come to the same conclusion as I have, Brother Gyu.”

Somsom’s face turned pale.

“Yes, Cultivator Han does not have the True Qilin Source. It must have scattered when the Blood Spirit died, or it must have returned to the blood of the True Spirit. If that’s the case, we’ll have to wait for the next Blood Spirit to be born to obtain the True Qilin Source.”

“If it scattered, we’ll never have another chance, and even if it’s in the blood of the True Spirit, we’ll have to wait hundreds of years,” the Jeong Clan woman said, summarizing the situation bitterly.

“Oh, is that so? Then, is there any way to find out which of the two is correct?”

Han Li asked, crossing his arms and showing interest.

“No, there isn’t. If it scattered, it’s natural that we can’t track its traces, and even if it’s in the blood of the True Spirit, we can’t confirm it.”

Somsom explained in a small voice. At those words, Han Li was a little disappointed. If he could obtain even a small part of it, he could reach the Fusion Stage, so it was worth trying again even if he had to wait hundreds of years.

He didn’t think the woman was lying, but he activated his Bright Sight and spread his consciousness to search the vicinity thoroughly. However, he could not find any clues.

Somsom and the Gyu Clan man became even more convinced of his words because of Han Li’s actions. They silently pondered this matter.

Somsom was disheartened by the failure of their long-planned endeavor, and the Gyu Clan man also seemed indifferent on the surface, but his eyes were wavering.

“Haha, it seems we’ve really wasted our efforts this time. It’s fortunate that waiting hundreds of years while residing in Eun Gyo’s body is not a big deal.”

“Eun Gyo’s body may have a chance to enter the Star Realm even after wasting hundreds of years, but that’s not the case for me. Even if I obtain the True Qilin Source hundreds of years later, I won’t have much time left to refine it.”

“In that case, how about we become one and form a single body?”

The Gyu Clan man said, his eyes gleaming at Somsom’s words.

“Consciousness fusion is also possible. If I can become the dominant consciousness!”

Somsom raised an eyebrow and answered firmly.

“Hmph, what nonsense!”

The Gyu Clan man distorted his face and began to emit a bloody aura from his entire body.

“Do you think you can defeat me and Senior Han, Cultivator Gyu?”

Although her heart was pounding, Somsom did not show it and shouted boldly.

“Cultivator Han, if you step aside from this matter, I will repay you handsomely later.”

The Gyu Clan man quickly made a proposal to Han Li.